Since its inception, the three-ring loose-leaf document binder has proven to be an effective method for retaining documents. After a period of time, the three-ring binder was improved with the placement of a clear plastic window pocket on both the front cover and the spine portion of the binder. Generally, these window pockets are sealed to the outer covering of the body of the binder along their longitudinal edges and bottom, thereby allowing for the placement of sheet material, e.g., paper or nonadhesive labels, between the plastic window and the binder. This enabled the binder to be clearly labeled with a description of its contents, a name, a logo, or any combination thereof, without the high cost of having the binder individually printed. Further, it alleviated the need to use adhesive labels which can become soiled, damaged and unsightly after a period of time, and further, are often difficult to remove. In contrast to the adhesive labels, the sheet material, which is slid between the clear plastic forming the window pocket and the body of the binder, is protected from wear and damage. With the option of being changed, sheet material allows for relabeling and hence the reuse of the binder with either the same documents or others of a different topic.
Placing sheet material into the front cover window pocket proved an easy task. However, with respect to the spine window pocket, due to its length in relation to the body of the binder, and the snugness of the window pocket, the sheet material proved difficult, to sometimes impossible, to insert into the window pocket without wrinkling, tearing or otherwise causing irreparable damage to the sheet material itself. Further, both the spine of the document retainer, as well as the clear plastic window pocket, could be subject to damage if a pen, scissors or similar sharp object were used to force the sheet material into the window pocket. This problem results in not only a costly waste of materials, but also a waste of time due to the difficulty of inserting the sheet material. Indeed, if a large number of binders are required, which often happens in the commercial settings where these binders are used for a wide range of uses, the problem is compounded. In addition to the problems associated with inserting the sheet material, it is also quite difficult to remove the sheet material from the spine window pocket without damaging the spine window pocket or the binder itself.
In an attempt to overcome the above problems, inventors created devices which would allow the user to insert sheet material into the spine window pocket without damaging the sheet material or the window pocket. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,472 ('472) to Ruble discloses a self-loading binder which incorporates an elongated label leader pre-installed within the spine window pocket of an overlay binder. However, this system is not universally usable in that it limits the use of the leader to the specific binder to which it is pre-installed, thereby increasing expense to manufactures and failing to resolve the problem for other binders with window pockets. In addition, the adhesive element can cause damage to the sheet material, and eventually, may lose its "sticky" quality and thus, prove impractical for long-term use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,840 ('840) to Ruble discloses an improvement on the '472 reference by incorporating a tool which may retrofit the elongated label leader into an overlay binder which has not been pre-installed with the elongated label leader. Nonetheless, the problems cited above are not addressed, and further increases the expense of solving the same problem.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,279 ('279) to Ruble discloses a leader having a loop portion, an improvement to the '472 reference, whereby the adhesive portion of the leader is peeled from the label as opposed to sheering the label away as in the previous references. Nonetheless, this reference too fails to provide a universal tool.
Another type of device was introduced by U.S. Pat, No. 4,892,333 to Krulich. The Krulich reference discloses a window pocket insertion device incorporating two elongated flat prongs which shield the sheet material from damage during insertion. Although this device may be universally used, each prong must be thin enough such that together they fit between the window pocket and the binder. The thinness of the prongs increases the frailty of the device, and exposes the device to being easily damaged.
A need exists in the industry for a compact, yet sturdy, and easy to use tool for inserting and removing sheet material from a binder window pocket without imparting damage to the sheet material or binder.